Stephen Clackson

A reader enquiry prompts me to make an addendum to the paragraph in last month’s Letter about the 50^th anniversary of the first election to Orkney Islands Council, namely that the “Westray” ward included Papa Westray.  Likewise, the “Rousay” ward included Egilsay and Wyre, however at this point I need to make a corrigendum to my statement that the five wards I cited covered today’s North Isles Ward, because back then Gairsay was included in the “Evie & Rendall” ward, represented by George Stevenson.  (Father of the current West Mainland councillor, Dr Jean Stevenson, George Stevenson later went on to represent Eday and Stronsay at School Place.)

Speaking of anniversaries, the 8^th June marked the 75^th anniversary of the first publication of George Orwell’s dystopian, and disturbingly prophetic, novel 1984.  Back in the actual year 1984, we were complacent, as none of it seemed to have become true (at least not here), but we are in a very different place now, a few decades further on.  And what is truly terrifying is how we have voluntarily invited “telescreens” into our homes and even into our pockets !

We held a Special General Meeting to establish formally the Orkney Towns Board tasked with disbursing the £20 million funding we will be receiving from the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund.  The Towns Board will be chaired by the former North Isles councillor and former OIC Convener, Stephen Hagan.

At the first meeting of the Education, Leisure & Housing Committee after our “reshuffle”, I am pleased to say I was re-appointed to serve on the UHI Orkney Stakeholder Group (the successor to the Orkney College Management Council), and I will continue as OIC’s representative on the University of the Highlands & Islands Foundation.  I am still on the Sport & Leisure Services Review Short-Life Working Group (which concerns, among other facilities, Isles swimming pools and Isles healthy-living centres), and I have been appointed to the Housing Strategies Consultative Group, which it is particularly important to have North Isles representation on.   At the corresponding meeting of the Development & Infrastructure Committee (D&I, of which I am not a member) I had hoped to be nominated for one of the positions on the Harbour Authority Sub-Committee reserved for non-D&I members, but regrettably my colleagues did not support me for this.

I attended the wreath-laying in Kirkwall marking the 80th anniversary of the start of the D-Day landings.  The Convenor spoke of the part Orkney played when, in the run-up, the home fleet used Papa Westray for target exercises and firing practice, which would for real on D-Day suppress the enemy’s defences overlooking the Normandy beaches.  Sea shells are not the only sort of shell one can find fragments of on Papay’s beaches.

At our Policy & Resources Committee meeting, I supported Cllr Dawson’s amendment not to approve an allocation of another £400,000 to the Island Games, but we were in a minority of two.  I appreciate there are some competitors who would be disappointed if the Games could not go ahead through lack of funding, but, on the other hand, there will be a lot more people disappointed when cuts have to be made in council services because we now have £400,000 less to spend on them.

Other meetings I have attended at School Place this month include:  an informative seminar on rural & agricultural development and the study report on maximising potential in the isles; a school attainment seminar; a confidential members’ briefing with the Chief Executive; an interesting update on the Orkney Community Vertical Farm Island Growth Deal Project; a meeting of the Monitoring & Audit Committee; and a “Teams” presentation from the CEO of Inverness & Cromarty Firth Green Freeport Ltd.  This month, I also had another online-only meeting of the University of the Highlands & Islands Foundation.

Whilst in Lerwick for a meeting of the Orkney & Shetland Valuation Joint Board, a few of us took the opportunity to visit the Shetland Abattoir and speak to people involved in running it.  I think their operating model could work in Orkney. 

I managed to get out to North Ronaldsay to be physically present at their community council meeting, and I was virtually present at the meeting of the Rousay, Egilsay, Wyre & Gairsay Community Council.

Singing along with Orkney Rocks, there was plenty of audience (or should I say congregation) participation at the official opening ceremony of Sanday’s Cross Kirk following its purchase earlier this year by the Friends of Sanday Kirk Ltd (FOSK).  In my letter of support for funding (see Issue 132), I’d stressed that the building would be “the best venue [on the island] for community events such as concerts and choirs”, and so it proved to be.  Well done to all involved in the FOSK in securing this community asset on behalf of and for the people of Sanday.

I missed the 75^th anniversary North Isles Sports in order to attend the first graduation of my daughter, Frideswide.  The weather was just as inclement in St Andrews as on Westray, I understand.  I also missed catching up with and welcoming Westray’s new headmistress, Julie Muir, who, like my daughter (and my other three children) was brought up on Sanday.

Thanks to the invaluable endeavours of my son Wulfric, clackson.info now has a positive SSL certificate again, so you won’t get messages when you try to log onto it alleging that the site is unsafe and will steal your data (which it never would’ve done).